Central nabs first win for new coach

Central captured its first win under rookie head coach Drew Church on Wednesday night with a 56-45 victory against Lutheran South in the consolation semifinals at the Farmington Invitational.

"It was really a team effort," Church said. "Everybody that played contributed well and everybody gave us something in some aspect. It feels good to get that first win. It's one less thing we have to worry about. We can move on and use these upcoming games to get better. We know what we need to work on."

Central, the No. 5 seed in the eight-team tournament, was led in scoring by senior guard Kerry Walker with 19 points. Junior guard Jajuan Bell added 16, and sophomore George Hamilton chipped in nine.

Bell had three 3-pointers and Walker added two.

The Tigers (1-1) will play 2:30 p.m. Saturday in the consolation finals at the Farmington Civic Center. Their opponent will be determined today.

• Jackson, the third seed in the tournament, moved into the semifinals of the winners bracket by winning its season opener 92-58 against Salem on Wednesday night.

Central 56, Lutheran South 45

Central 15 13 13 15 -- 56

Lutheran South 10 9 10 16 -- 45

Central (56) -- Kerry Walker 19, George Hamilton 9, Jajuan Bell 16, Shane Nolen 4, Brujay Lane 2, Tyler Terry 3, Garrett Pannier 2, Landon Ewers 1. FG 14, FT 10-14, F 11 (3-pointers: K. Walker 2, Hamilton 1, Bell 3. Fouled out: none)

Lutheran South (45) -- Alex Cupp 3, Tony Gabriel 3, Chris Kaempfe 2, Chris Franklin 4, Dan Hohenstein 2, Pete Eggers 2, Nathan Tobias 10, Ryan Fassler 17, Alex Hinton 2. FG 16, FT 1-2, F 9 (3-pointers: Cupp 1, Gabriel 3, Fassler 2. Fouled out: none)